How to Choose a Whole-House Water Filtration System

The decision tree we can actually support

If the supply is municipal chlorine and sediment, look at city-water housing styles: 20-inch cartridge triples, tank-style carbon/KDF, or compact SQC. See the city-water guide.

If the supply is a well with iron or manganese, do not start with a city chlorine cartridge. See the well-water guide and the WGB32BM series variant.

If you are still deciding whether point-of-entry is the job at all, use the need/no-need page. If you are comparing housing styles, use the cartridge-versus-tank page.

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Documented systems this hub can point to

If the supply is municipal chlorine and sediment, look at city-water housing styles: 20-inch cartridge triples, tank-style carbon/KDF, or compact SQC. See the city-water guide.

iSpring WGB32B: Three-stage 20-inch cartridge system for sediment and chlorine taste/odor on municipal water. Manufacturer-stated figures: gpm 15 peak (manufacturer); micron 5 (stage-1 sediment, manufacturer); stages 3; temp f 40–100; housing 20 in x 4.5 in; ph range 6–11. Limitations: Manufacturer peak flow is a rating, not a guarantee under every fixture load. This cartridge set is not a water softener and is not the iron/manganese WGB32BM variant.

iSpring WGB32BM: Same 20-inch three-housing platform as WGB32B, with the FM25B iron and manganese cartridge in stage 3 per the series manual. Manufacturer-stated figures: gpm 15 peak (series rating); stages 3; temp f 40–100; housing 20 in x 4.5 in; ph range 6–11; cartridges FP25B sediment + FC25B carbon + FM25B iron/manganese. Limitations: Manufacturer documents a well-oriented cartridge set; it is not a substitute for a dedicated iron filter or a water softener when those problems dominate. Peak 15 GPM is the series rating, not a well-specific test result from this site.

Aquasana EQ-1000: Tank-style municipal whole-house carbon/KDF system with a 20-inch sediment pre-filter and a manufacturer-rated 1,000,000 gallon / 7 gpm service flow. Manufacturer-stated figures: gpm 7.0 rated service flow; nsf NSF/ANSI 42 chlorine reduction (manufacturer PDS); stages sediment pre-filter + media tanks; temp f 40–90; prefilter 20 in 5 micron sediment pre-filter; inlet size 3/4 in or 1 in install kits. Limitations: Rated service flow is 7 gpm on the manufacturer performance data sheet — lower than many cartridge housings' peak ratings. This is not a salt-based softener and is not positioned here as a well-iron system.

3M Aqua-Pure AP904: Compact sanitary-quick-change whole-house housing with AP917HD-S cartridge: 5-micron sediment, chlorine taste/odor, and scale-inhibition media. Manufacturer-stated figures: gpm 20 peak (manufacturer); head 304 stainless SQC head; micron 5 nominal; stages 1 cartridge (AP917HD-S); temp f 40–100; inlet size 1 inch NPT. Limitations: 3M states this product is not designed for potable water with precipitating iron, bacteria, or chloramine present. Peak 20 gpm is a manufacturer rating; capacity is listed at 100,000 gallons on the AP900 series literature.

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